Opera Bouffe.
Offenbach continues to draw at both the opera houses. “Geneviève de Brabant” enters upon its fourth week at the French theatre, and “La Belle Hélène” runs her brilliant course at Pike’s. This, though, is the last week of the flirtations of the fickle Queen of Spartia. “Barbe-Bleue” begins to poison his wives again next Monday at this estabishment, when the charming Irma will be welcomed back to the city.
In the manner in which both the managers have presented the operas they have taken in hand, they have more than fulfilled every promise made to the public. It is so pleasant to find a thing perfectly done in all its details. This has not been an easy task with an opera like “Geneviève,” that has such a mass of supplementary parts. Outside of he sextet of principal voices and the chorus, there is a quantity of side work to be done in this opera – Tyrolean trios, quartets of hunters, an army of supernumeraries for various purposes of detail. Mr. Grau puts the force engaged in the representation at 140 – a truly liberal and munificent way of doing the work. If this splendid force could only be put upon an opera that was worth the labor ! Mr. Grau would doubtless be willing, so would Mr. Bateman, but they probably distrust the public. It is their business to give the public what the public wants and will pay for ; and if we don’t want anything better than Offenbach, it is our misfortune, and not certainly the fault of the managers.
